Parallel Brothers I : Twisted Reality
by SaberAureum
Summary: What Ed and Al only wish was to see their mother's warm smile again. But what could be the price of a human's life? An arm, a leg, or a body? Now, Ed struggles to protect his brother with a body made out of metal. When their lives are switched, and their destinies altered, would the reality they have known of twist and change as well? Full Summary inside!
1. Prologue

**_Full Summary!_**

How will things work out if it wasn't Al who got stock in the armor but rather Ed? When the gate was about to take Al, Ed paid no heave and dashed to save him, leaving Al to perform the soul transmutation. What sacrifices do they have to make? What choices would they take? What could be the outcome of their destinies? When they lives are switched, and their destinies are altered, would the reality they have known of twist and change as well?

Following the combined story of both FMA versions (2003 and 2009), I give you the Parallel Brothers Trilogy.

**_Disclaimer Notice! _**I disclaimed everything! Except of course, for this plot twist.

**_Author's Note! _** Please remember to read and review guys! Reviews make the updates go faster. Excuse my awful grammar. ^_^

**_Spoiler Alert! _**_Some of the lines or dialogs are taken __**directly **__from both the Manga and Anime Series. _

The Parallel Brothers Book One

**Twisted Reality**

Prologue:

Resembool – 5 Years Ago

Edward and Alphonse Elric rushed to their basement and started mixing substances they knew was enough for them to reach their goals. "Let's do this Al!" said the enthusiastic older brother. "Yes! Big brother!" replied the happy little one.

They have been planning this ever since that incident happen. They went through hardships and wild training to acquire this specific knowledge about alchemy. "We must not fail…" thought Ed with determination.

"Ok…these are the basic ingredients that construct an average adult…" Al said while purring the last ingredients needed. "The Alchemy Circle…." Ed said while checking the drawn array of their transmutation circle.

"And for the soul…" Ed and Al cut their finger and dropped their blood together with the mixture, completing it. "Here it goes Al!" encouraged Ed. Al nodded in reply. They both close their eyes as they focused themselves on performing the alchemy.

Light blue electric light flashed from the circle, swaying in a circled manner. Ed smiled upon seeing the alchemy. 'This is it!' thought Ed as he saw the light flashed through the mixture.

All of a sudden, the once blue light turned to an eerie violet. The smile on Ed instantly vanished. "Big…brother…what is happening…?" Al asked, fear could be hinted from his voice. "Huh…?!" they both looked around. "Something is wrong…" concluded Ed.

Something sparked from his hand, and when he saw it, his eyes widened in astonishment – his left hand is slowly disappearing. "Big brother!" he heard Al screamed. He turned around and saw his brother's left leg vanishing.

"Al!"

He slowly tried to approach his little brother. As he focused his eyes, he saw black hands like shadows circling it. He follows it through his eyes and saw them coming from something that looked like a gate. He remembered seeing that gate from a book before. "No! It's a rebound!" his head screamed in horror. He knew what would happen next. More hands crept out from the gate, swaying slowly as it approached his little brother. "No! I won't let them!"

Without second thoughts, he rushed to his little brother and pushed him out of the circle. Without Alphonse on the circle, the hands grabbed Ed instead. Alphonse's eyes opened in shock. "No! Big Brother!"

The black hands grabbed Ed's body and dragged him back to the gate. Al immediately tried to stood up and reached for his brother's hand. But, it was hard to do so, especially if you only had one leg. "Ed! Big brother!" he screamed with all his might. "No! Ed!"

Al tried to reach for him, their hands were only inches apart. 'Just a little bit!' Al thought as he dragged himself towards his brother. "Al!" Ed screamed as he tries to pull himself closer to Al, wanting to touch his little brother's hand. "Ed!" "Al!"

Al thought that he could already save his brother, alas, it was all too late. His brother's hand disintegrated in the air, the gate closed. Al's eyes widened in fear, "No! Ed! Big brother!"

As he opened his eyes, he saw himself standing in a place covered in white. Nothing could be seen anywhere. "W-what the…w-where am I?" he scanned the area. Behind him was a huge gate designed with some scrubbings he could not understand, it floats slightly above the ground. "Ed?" he asked as though his brother were with him. He tried to look for him, but he found no one.

"Ed….Big brother!" he never stopped searching for him. "Hey!" a male's voice caught his attention. He immediately turned his gaze around, his eyes widened with worry and fear. "Wh-who…" he looked behind but found none.

"Here! Here! I'm right in front of you!" it called for his attention again. He gasped and as he turned his head in front, he saw something unordinary.

In front of him sat a creature covered in all white, with black like particles surrounding it like a shadow. The creature looks almost identical to a human except that it has neither face nor clothes, only a creepy smile could be seen in it.

Its smile frightened him the most.

"Who are..you…?" he hesitated on asking, but knew he should. The creature held out its hand and a laugh could be heard. "Aha! Thanks for asking!" it said, with a masculine voice.

"I am what you humans refer to as the world, also known as the "universe", or "god", or "true knowledge", or "all", or "one"…And, I'm you…" it said as it pointed its hand towards Al.

Al's eyes widened with fear. Sweats formed in his head. He could not move with fear. "Welcome, ignorant one…"

Without his knowledge, the gate that stood behind him opened. The black hands that looked like shadows creep from it. It grabbed him from behind and slowly dragged him inside. "No….NOOO!" he screamed in horror.

The laughter of the creature echoed across the place. "Be quite! It's that what you wanted?" it asked. "AHHH!" Al's body was slowly being dragged. He screamed and thrash with all his might, but the gate continued on swallowing him inside. His heart, mind, his whole body was filled with terror and fear. "Big brother! Help!"

Just before the gate close shut, he saw the creature smiling at him. "I'll show you…the _true knowledge" _

'What the hell is this?!'

The black hands encircled his body and continued on dragging him. It was as if falling from a high place. Around him, film-liked objects swayed. This film like structure contains images where people, places, and all sort were displayed. These information were forcing its way towards his brain.

"No! stop! My head hurts! It'll explode! I'm going to be mutilated! Stop! Please Stop! Stop!" he screamed.

All of a sudden, a white silhouette that looked exactly like his mom was displayed. Its hand was stretched at him. He tried to reach for it, to grab it. "Mom!" But before he could, the gate closed on him.

He stood where he was before, panting. The gate tightly shut behind. He stared at his hand.

"How was it?" the creature that as the truth spoke. He turned around and stared at it. "I feel like…unbelievable amount of knowledge were forced inside my brain…! My head hurts! But, now I finally understand…" Al replied.

He turned around and looked at the gate, fears gone from his eyes, replaced by something else. "This is the true knowledge…"

He slowly walked towards it. "That's right…Our human transmutation is not wrong…Brother formulated the correct theory! Just a little more! What I need to know is just ahead. Brother's theory lacks something in it. There was true knowledge regarding human transmutation…" His hands had touched the gate.

He turned around at the creature and pleaded. "Just one more time! Please let me in again!"

He expected the creature to agree and let him in. But it just shook its head. "No can do!" it said. "That's all I can show for this much passage fee…"

"Passage fee?" Al asked. The creature nodded. "That's correct…passage fee…" It snickered. It raised its left foot. Its once white foot turned into that of a human leg. Al felt something from his body. And as he glanced at it, he saw his left foot disintegrating.

The creature stood face-to-face with him. It smiled. "Equivalent trade, no? Ain't that right, alchemist boy?"

Al faced was replaced with full terror. "AAAHHHH!" he screamed.

He clenched his bleeding left leg. "No! No! Big brother! Help me! Ed! Ed!" he looked around and saw Ed's clothes scattered in the ground. It was like his brother vanished into thin air. "No! This can't be happening!"

He fell to the ground, with his arm supporting him. "It wasn't supposed to be like this! Ed! Big brother! Help!" he screamed. "Mom!"

He looked in front, and what he saw scared him. It wasn't his mother that they had created, it's a monster. Its head was upside down, and tentacles crept from inside its body, its ribs were wide open. It breaths, but it wasn't human. It could never be! It's hand crept in the ground, slowly approaching the frightened kid. Al immediately dragged himself away, his whole body trembling with fear.

"No! It can't be!" tears started to fall from his eyes. He vomited. "This is not what we wanted! Brother! Brother!" he yelled. He dragged himself around and brought down an armor that stood near him. It clanked as it fell.

Al remembered what he saw inside the gate, and without second thoughts, he used it. He drew an array on the neck side of the armor with his own blood. "Big brother…."

"Return him…" he clenched his teeth. "He's my older brother! Whether be my leg, or my arm…I'll even give you my heart. So please, return him to me! He's my little brother!"

In a desperate attempt, he clapped his hand. Blue electric light flashed around him. On the other side of the gate, the white creature smiled. It raised its right hand as it slowly began to changed form.

"That fool, his back for more…"


	2. Enter, The Fullmetal Alchemist!

**_Full Summary!_**

How will things work out if it wasn't Al who got stock in the armor but rather Ed? When the gate was about to take Al, Ed paid no heave and dashed to save him, leaving Al to perform the soul transmutation. What sacrifices do they have to make? What choices would they take? What could be the outcome of their destinies? When their lives are switched, and their destinies altered, would the reality they have known of twist and change as well?

Following the combined story of both FMA versions (2003 and 2009), I give you the Parallel Brothers Trilogy.

**_Disclaimer Notice! _**I disclaimed everything! Except of course, for this plot twist.

**_Author's Note! _** Please remember to read and review guys! Reviews make the updates go faster. Excuse my awful grammar. ^_^

**_Spoiler Alert! _**_Some of the lines or dialogs are taken __**directly **__from both the Manga and Anime Series._

* * *

The Parallel Brothers Book One

**Twisted Reality**

Chapter One:

**Enter, the Fullmetal Alchemist!**

East Frontier Lior City – Present Date

In the city of Lior, same things happened every day. The priest would announce to everyone the great things God had provided them. The high priest preaches people and tells them all the things he wanted them to know. Never had they thought that these _normal _things would last. Who would have thought that a normal _traveler _could change the lives of thousands of people?

"Children of God, have faith and thou shalt be save. The God of the sun, Leto, enlightens thy path. Behold having descended from his throne; the Lord shall save thee from thy sins. As a messenger of thy God, I am your father" the loud speech filled the town. Almost all of the town's radio had said the same thing.

"A radio broadcast from a sermon?" one metallic voice said. An armored guy was seated beside a teenager in a store. "A messenger of God? What's that?" said the teenager beside him.

"I think I ought to say 'what's that' at you two…" replied by their bartender or serving from his counter, quite astonished. He was wiping a glass with one hand gripping the bottle while the other slowly cleansing it. The server was a man about his forties with thick mustached on his face.

"Are you street performers?" Both his customers flinched upon hearing that question. "Okay pops! What part of us were street performers?!" the armored man asked harshly. "No….no we're not…" the teenager answered in a well-toned voice. He gently flashed the server one of his innocent smiles.

The teenager looked about fourteen to fifteen years of age. He has a dirty golden hair and brown eyes like that of his mother. His tone was soft and kind. He wore a white polo-shirt paired with black pants. His shirt had a strange symbol in its upper right part, symbolizing that he had come from a great mentor.

He smiled happily at the man while the armored one looked like he could kill the bartender any minute now. The bartender ignored his rage and continued with his questions.

"I keep looking but that's all you could be…" the bartender reasoned out, looking back at the armored one. "Especially you…" he added while pointing at it-er-him. "I don't see faces like yours around this town…." He then said.

He placed his palm against his head as if thinking something important. "Ah! Perhaps tourist, then?" he finally concluded. A short giggle came out from the teenager. "Fufu…you may call it that way…" he replied, scratching the back of his head. Seeing what his companion did, the armored guy decided that it may be time to press on for a little more details.

"What's with these broadcast, anyway?" he asked, now without his harsh and furious voice. It won't help him in any way when it comes on gathering information. The bartender looked surprised. "Oh, you haven't heard of the Lord Cornello?" he asked. "We're tourist, right?!" the armored guy said as if pointing out the obvious. "Who…?" that caught up the curious side of the teenager.

"Founder Lord Cornello! The messenger of Leto, the sun god!" the bartender proclaimed proudly. Across the town, you could hear people talking about the goodness and holiness of their holy founder.

"The founder of Letoism, the one with the _power of miracles! _ He's this really wonderful man who came to this city a couple of years ago and showed us the way of God!"

"It's incredible!"

"Definitely the power of God!"

"You ain't listening…?" the bartender asked the armored guy who began twisting his companion's fork. The teenager on the other hand is listening intently on the said stories of the people. The armored guy sighed. "Nope….I'm not interested with religions…" he stood up and was about to leave when his head hit something hard. A radio fell and shattered on the ground.

He chuckled. "Oopps…"

"AAAHHH!" came the reaction of the owner. "Hey! Don't cause problems in here! It's all because of you wearing that suit while walking around!" scolded the bartender. "Hey! What's your problem with my suit?!" retorted the armored guy back. Before he could anything to the bartender, his companion stopped him. Looking at the bartender, he apologized; "I'm sorry for the trouble he caused. Don't worry! I shall fix it for you…"

"Fix? How…?" the bartender asked in curiosity. "Just watch!" answered the armored guy.

The dirty-blond teenager walked around the broken radio and inspected it. "Are you sure you could do this?" the bartender asked. "Just watch, ok?!" came the replied from the irritated armored guy. "Fine…fine…" the bartender said in defeat.

"Right….here I go!" the teenager stood up and clasped his hand. After doing so, he slammed it on the ground and flashes of blue electric light sparked from the ground where the broken radio was placed. The once broken radio was fixed in a minute. The villagers' eyes gazed at the radio as if it was some kind of a miracle. "How's this?" boasted out the armored guy.

"I'm totally stunned!" replied by the bartender. He still couldn't believe his eyes. "You could also use the _power of miracles_?!" he asked in amazement. Both of the newcomers almost dropped their heads on the ground. "Say what now…" said the armored guy.

"Um…we're the Elrics brothers…We're alchemists…" the teenager introduced himself and his companion. He bowed at the bartender. "And we're sort of famous…" replied the armored guy who didn't even bother to bow. After hearing it, the villagers yelled in recognition.

"The Elrics brothers?! I've heard of them before!"

"The younger one of them is one of the national state alchemists!"

"The Fullmetal Alchemist! Alphonse Elric!"

"Yes…." Replied by the teenager, a little bit shy. The folk people rushed to the armored guy and began admiring his suit.

"So, you're that rumored genius alchemist!"

"I get it! It's because you're wearing this suit of armor that they named you fullmetal!"

"You stupid people! Of course it's not me! It's my brother over there!" the armored guy said pointing at his teenager companion. The town people were baffled. "Who? The teenager?" they asked. "Yes…"

The teenager bowed at them again and introduced himself. "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, Alphonse Elric…" The armored guy raised his fist. "And I'm the older brother, Edward Elric…"

The villagers were suddenly embarrassed by their actions. "E-excuse us..then…"

* * *

**Author's Note!**

Thanks to those who reviewed, followed, and favorite-d this story! Stay tuned guys!


	3. The One Who Challenges the Sun

**_Disclaimer Notice! _**I disclaimed everything! Except of course, this plot twist which was a product of my silly and twisted imagination.

**_Author's Note! _** Please remember to read and review guys! Reviews make the updates go faster. And do excuse my awful grammar. OH~ This chapter includes some reference on my other fanfic that happens at the same world as this one, which will be posted as soon as I completed half of it. It will be entitled: **What it means to be a brother. **The story focuses on the tragic life Ed hid away from Al, thinking that it was the proper way to assess such situation. Oh how wrong he was! XD I'm so evil, kept on torturing my poor Ed…:3

**_Spoiler Alert! _**_Some of the lines or dialogs were taken __**directly **__from both the Manga and Anime Series. _

The Parallel Brothers Book One

**Twisted Reality**

Chapter Two:

**The one who challenges the sun**

East Frontier Lior City – Present Date

"Hello! It's a lively day today!" in the midst of their heated conversation, a lady approached them. The bartender smiled and greeted the lady back. "Oh! Hello Rose!"

The lady looked like she was between 17-18 years of age. She has hair that could reach up to her waist. Her hair was black, but the color of her bangs was different – it was pink. She smiled and approached the bartender.

Before she could say anything, the bartender asked her first. "Going to the church again?" The lady replied with glee, "Yes! I need to make some offerings" She then pointed out the things she wanted to buy. After a while, she took notice of the two travelers standing beside her.

"Oh! I haven't met you before…" she said, politely. The bartender answered for them, "He said he's an alchemist, seems like he's looking for something…" The bartender finished stuffing all the purchases inside the paper bag and handed them to the lady. The lady smiled and thanked him.

Before leaving, she bowed at the travelers and smiled gladly at them. "I hope you may find what you're looking for! May Leto protect the two of you…" She then rushed off to her destination, the smile never left her face.

"Rose has become a lot more energetic…" the bartender suddenly spoke up. The _travelers _turned their gazed at him, listening to what he was about to say. "It's all thanks to the founder…" one of villagers added. "Huh?!" Ed pressed for more details. "What do you mean?"

The bartender sighed. "That girl, she has no relatives, and on top of that, her boyfriend died on an accident" One of the villagers nodded. "You'll think she should be sad rather than being so energetic, right?" he added. Both the _travelers _nod their heads, how the bartender read their mind they would never know.

"What save her, was the teachings of Lord Cornello!" another villager proclaimed with glee. "He who gives everlasting life to the living and rebirth to the death. _The power of miracles _proved that" the villager added, he was grinning from ear to ear. "Mister! You should take a look too! That's definitely the power of God!" the bartender said, encouraging both the Elric brothers.

The armored guy looked thoughtful, "Rebirth to the death, huh?" The teenager beside him nodded. "Al, this sounds fishy…" the armored guy said, turning his gaze to his companion. "Right, we should take a look…brother…" the teenager suggested. He always asked for his brother's permission first before engaging in a situation, after all his brother had drilled that into his head, how could he missed doing so? The armored guy nodded, feeling somewhat relieved that his brother had asked him first. He knew Al could be reckless at times and so he drilled to him the idea that he always had to ask for his brother's permission first, so Ed could see those things first. He perfectly knew the dangers of being an alchemist. And even if he did agree to his brother that he could become one, doesn't mean that he would just sit back and stare as Al worked for the two of them. Being an alchemy includes lost of blood too, and he doesn't want to wake his little brother again from some nightmare that include people dying. If he could prevent him from seeing those kind of things, he would do so. After all, he's the older brother, he should be the one protecting him and not the other way around.

"Have faith, thy wishes would be answered!" these were the radio's last broadcast before it was turned off.

Inside the Church

The founder, Lord Cornello, turned off the radio switch. One priest in front of him clapped his hands. "Wonderful job, founder!" he said. The one beside him bowed. "Founder! We are grateful for your precious words as well!"

The founder smiled at them. "Founder!" Rose entered the room. The founder, upon seeing her, stood up and approached her. His hands were behind his back and his posture – like that of a superior. "Ah! Rose! As good as always…" he smiled at her. Rose smiled back, a little embarrass of the sudden compliment. "Ah, no…It's just the usual…"

Her hands suddenly fidget, sweats started to form in it. "And…if it happens…someday…" The founder, sensing where this would take place, placed his hand on her shoulders as a way of comforting her. "I understand what you're going to say. After all, God had observing your good conduct…" Rose's face suddenly light up. "Then…!"

"But Rose, it is not yet the time for that…" Rose face turned grim. She looked down to hide her disappointment from the priest. "Do you understand?" the priest then asked. "Yes?"

Rose looked at him and flashed a smile. "Yes…I understand…Not…It's not yet the time…" The priest smiled, his eyes glinted with something evil. "Good…You're a good child, Rose…"

Rose then bowed and exits the room. She heads for the great hall where she prayed every day. She was surprised to see the two travelers she met earlier. Her face lighted up. "Do you want to learn about Letoism?" she asked, enthusiastically. She's would be so happy to share the goodness of God to the two of them.

"Sorry….we're not interested…" the armored guy answered harshly. But Rose didn't give up. "That's not good! By believing in God, you'll live with daily gratitude and hope! Isn't that wonderful?" she said, you could see the sparkles behind her. "If you have faith, all your doubts would definitely be answered!" she said with determination. Al's face turned grim. He looked at the ground, as if regretting something in the past. Seeing his brother's face, the armored guy stepped forward. "How can you believe in something like that, anyway?" he asked, trying to lift up the mood. Ed could not take the sad look on his brother's face.

"Pray to God, and the dead would come back?" Ed said in disbelief. Rose pouted. "Yes, without a doubt" she said with pride. Al sighed. He sat down on the nearest chair and pulled out a notebook. He then started to list some odd things.

"35 liters of water, 25 kilograms of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1.5 kilograms of lime, 800 grams of phosphorus, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of saltpeter, 80 grams of sulfur, 7.5 grams of fluorine, 5 grams of iron, 3 grams of silicon and a little bit of other 15 elements…"

"Huh? What…What are you talking about?" Rose asked in confusion. "These would be the calculated components that make up a single human body…" the armored guy answered for her. He approached his brother and stood beside him, like a guard that protects his client. Although he senses no danger from Rose, he could not take any risk, since this is an unknown territory of their enemies.

"We already know that much with modern science, but the reality is that no successful human transmutation has been reported…" Ed crossed his arms and stared directly at Rose's eyes. Rose flinched upon his stare. Something inside her tells that these two have been through hardships in life.

Al sighed. He closed his notebook and looked up. "There's not enough of something…For hundreds of years, scientist have been researching and researching but they still haven't been able to grasp it…"

Ed advert her eyes and stares at the roof too. Both of them, lost with their thoughts. "So, you could say that it was a wasted effort. But, I think it's a lot more useful than just praying and waiting"

Rose gulped. "Oh, right and the ingredients for these parts?" Ed continued, smiling at her. "You can pick the entire up at a marketplace even with the pocket money of a little kid! It's really cheap to make a human body!" Ed laughed. Al just smiled at the joke his brother made.

"A person isn't a thing! You're being disrespectful to the creator! You'll get the wrath of the heaven!" Rose said, not finding any part of his joke funny. Ed stopped laughing and gazed at her. "Alchemists are scientists, so we can't believe in vague things like the _Creator _nor _God…_" he added. "We explain the fundamentals of the creation of everything in the world and pursue the truth…" Al continued for him. Rose could only stare at the two brothers.

The armored guy then snickered. "It's ironic, isn't it? Scientist doesn't believe in God, yet they are the one who are closest to Him…" Rose could not take it any longer. She clenched her fist and retorts back, "That's arrogant! You think of yourselves as God's equal?" The armored guy then stood up. "Oh right! I've heard of this legend before…" Ed said, as if he remembered it just now. But the truth is, he never forget it. Every night it gives him nightmares, every night it kept him awake. Cause' it's the truth. Al's face turned grim. He clenched both of his hand, and tried his best to stop the tears from flowing through his eyes. _They had given up too much, and yet…looked at them! They received nothing in return._

"There was once a hero who flew too close to the sun. His wings of wax fell apart, and he plummeted back to the earth…"


	4. The Philosopher's Stone

**_Disclaimer Notice! _**I disclaimed everything! Except of course, this plot twist which was a product of my silly and twisted imagination.

**_Author's Note! _** Please remember to read and review guys! Reviews make the updates go faster. And do excuse my awful grammar.

**_Spoiler Alert! _**_Some of the lines or dialogs were taken __**directly **__from both the Manga and Anime Series. _

The Parallel Brothers Book One

**Twisted Reality**

Chapter Three:

**The Philosopher's Stone**

East Frontier Lior City – Present Date

The crowd roared to life as soon as Lord Cornello entered the stage. He waved as the people who welcomed him with open arms, his wide smile never leave his face.

"Founder!"

"Use the power of miracles, Founder!"

The people cheered on him. He simply waved at them and smiled. Flowers fell from above, he catched one and held it tightly in his arms. Red alchemic light flashed from it and as he opened his arms again, the small rose had turned into a huge beautiful sunflower. The crowd roared with amazement. All were mesmerized by the miracle the priest had performed, except for the two. "Hmm….What do you think, Nii-san*?" Al asked his brother. His eyes, drifting around the vast crowd.

"That transformation reaction just now….it's normal alchemy, right?" he reconfirmed his thoughts. The armored guy nodded in approval. "Yup…" Ed said, casually. He gazed at the priest who never grew tired of smiling and waving at the crowd. "But…the law-" Ed was about to say something when he got interrupted.

"So you two came!" a voice yelled from the crowd. Ed and Al looked around and saw Rose approaching them. "How is it?" she asked gladly, hoping that they would agree with her too. But the look in their eyes says otherwise, and so she pressed further. "No doubt about it, right? This is the power of miracles! After all, Lord Cornello is the son of the god Leto…"

Al looked into Rose with a sad look. It was as if he's too sorry for something he had yet to reveal. "I hate to say it, Rose….But I think-"

"Cornello's a fake…." Ed continued for him. "Brother!" Al pouts and stared at his brother with angry eyes. "You don't have to be that straight-forward!" Al insisted. The armored guy shrugged. "Eh? It's the truth…so why bother sugar-coating it?" Ed answered as if it was the best decision to make. Al sighed. 'Brother never changes…' he thought to himself.

"But…it's against the law…" he was thrown back into the matter at their hands. The armored guy nodded. "That's right…" Rose looked at them, flabbergasted. "Law? What law?" she asked, in a curious way.

Alphonse began explaining.

"From an average person's view point, alchemy is a very handy skill that can make anything without limit. But the truth is that there's a rule in this. To put it roughly, there's the law of conservation of mass and the law of providence. Among us practitioners, there are people who use the four elements and the three principles, but…" Al glanced at Rose to see her spinning with confusion. He gulped. He was hesitant if he should finish it or not, cause' by the looks of the lady standing in front of her, she had already reached her capacity.

"Um…okay. It's taking an object with one element, and changing it into an object containing the same element…" before he could continue what he was saying, his brother – Ed, decided that it was the perfect time to speak up.

The armored guy spoke with his arms crossed.

"In short, the basis to alchemy is _exact trade! _If you want to make something, you need something of equivalent cost" And then, pointing at the preacher standing in front of the stage, he added; "But he ignored that law and was able to transmute…"

Rose clenched her fist and retorts back. "Make some sense! Do you believe in the power of miracles or not?!"

Al, after putting his thoughts in order, asked his brother. "Brother…maybe its…" Ed upon hearing him concluding the same thoughts, grinned widely. "Yes…maybe it is…"

_Bingo!_

Edward suddenly changed mood. Alphonse's eyes brighten. He turned to Rose and bowed. He then smiled softly at her. "Now that I thought of it, I had found an interest with this religion. Would you mind filling us with some information?" He asked with a kind and gentle voice.

Rose's face lifts up. She yelped in joy.

"Oh! You've finally become a believer!"

Inside the Church

One of the priests knocked at the door. "Come in…" Lord Cornello said, giving permission to the said man. The man entered then spoke up, "Founder, there is someone requesting for an interview"

He walked toward the preacher who is seated in a table drinking his cup of tea. "A boy and an armored man that call themselves the Elric brothers…" The preacher flinched upon the mention of the name. He put the cup down. "W-what? Did you just said the Elric brothers? Alphonse Elric?!" he asked, trying to confirmed his thoughts before fear and confusion corrupted him.

"Yes, I'm sure that was the name of the boy, do you know him?" the priest asked. Lord Cornello gently massages his head. "Oh, this is bad…He's the Fullmetal alchemist, Alphonse Elric!" the preacher said, his voice a tone of dismay.

The priest flinched and was taken back. He couldn't believe his ears. "T-that boy?! But…he's too gentle…That boy is the fullmetal alchemist?! He's just a kid! Is this a joke?" he asked, hoping that this was some prank the preach wanted to laugh about. But, the look on the preacher said otherwise. This is a serious matter.

"Idiot! Age is irrelevant to being an alchemist!" Lord Cornello said. Then he began to spoke about a tale. "I've heard that when he was just eleven, he obtained the license for being one of the state alchemists…I see…he really is that rumored kid…"

The priest panicked. "Why is a state alchemist here?! Could it be that he knows about our plan?!"

"It seems that the dogs of the military have excellent noses…"

"You want me to send him away?"

"No, doing that would be too suspicious. He might return if we turn him away…"

Then, the preacher conceptualized up a plan. He grinned wickedly at his partnern. "What if they _never _came here…How does that sound?" The priest grinned too, decoding the order the preacher had said. "As long as God is content…"

_"__Please enter…"_

**NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW!**

Rose yelled at the priest. "Brother! What is the meaning of this?!" Turning to her, he priest answered; "Rose, these mean are heretics that were going to trap the founder. They're demons!" His eyes showed nothing but hatred towards the two.

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No! If that's why, the founder surely wouldn't have allowed this thing to-" She was interrupted when the priest held her hand. He gripped it tightly. "The founder had allowed this. The words of the founder are the words of God! _This _is the will of God!" he stated emphasizing words.

"Oh? That's a mean god…"

**NEXT CHAPTER! **CHAPTER FOUR – **ENTERING GOD'S DOMAIN**


End file.
